A Down And Out Tale - Maybe

Yap, yap, yap. Yap, yap, yap.  "What the hell is that dog on about," I thought as we walked along the Boulevard de Poisonnere on a cool Paris Sunday morning.  The yapping continued. Then, outside of a corner café the mutt came into view.  It was small, about the size of a wharf rat.  It looked like one too, but perhaps with taller legs.  It was on all fours with its tail curled up over its back and was standing next to a disheveled middle aged woman seated on a dirty blanket spread on the footpath.  She was begging.  The woman was trying to quiet the little bugger, but he was not giving in.  He kept on yapping and as we reached them, out of the corner of his eye we made eye contact.  There was no doubt he was on a mission.

The attempt to quiet with words had not work.  So, the woman finally capitulated and from under her bag very reluctantly pulled out some food.  It wasn't just food scraps either, it was packaged dog food - gold plastic base with a silver foil top.  At least, I assumed it was dog food, I guess it could easily have been French pate given the packaging.  Let's just say it didn't look like the cheapest brand of pet food.  Anyway, as soon as Yappy saw that he was getting his way, he shut up and stared, waiting for her to open his breakfast.

We carried on walking and soon came across a man with another little mutt.  They were begging too.  They both looked down on their luck.  This little mutt was lying down with head on legs stretched out in front of her, sad eyes looking up.  There were three bowls.  One for money, one with water and one empty, presumably the food bowl.

A pattern was developing.  We arrived at L'Opera and as we crossed Boulevard de Capucines, there was yet another man with a little dog.  This little nipper was camel coloured and was eating a meal of bread and water - I kid you not.

A Walk on London's Wild Side

Richmond Park with Central London Not Far Away

Saturday was a brilliant London day.  So, we decided to take full advantage of this Summer rarity by going on one of our long walks.  We hopped a train at Waterloo Station and in half an hour we were in Hampton Wick to start our trek.  The plan was to check out a few antique shops in Hampton Wick and Kingston and then head off to explore, Richmond Park.

The train ride went smoothly, no delays, but the antiquing?  Well, it started out a bit slow.  The first stop planned was the Hampton Wick Antique Centre.  I'd found it online and had checked their hours on their website.  I hate turning up and finding shops closed.  Their site assured me that they were open on Saturday and that they were conveniently located just across the street from the station.  Unfortunately, you just can't believe everything you read on the net these days, because not only were they closed, they were out of business.  The place was empty, but their website was still operating.

Anyway, we marched off down the street to the next shop on the list with me bitching about how unprofessional some antique shop owners can be.  The next shop was on the way to the bridge that would take us over the Thames to Kingston.  I was really glad it was on the way, because that shop was closed too.  Interesting things in the windows but locked up tight.  Things were not going well and I was feeling a real rant coming on.